Far Away, Long Ago
by darlingsybil
Summary: "So many lives were destroyed that night. What had always been was now gone forever and my Sybil, my beloved grandchild, I never saw her again." It was a rumour, a legend, a mystery but for two con men, could they really have found the long lost daughter of the late Earl of Grantham? (Inspired by Anastasia)


"_There was a time, not long ago, where we lived in an enchanted world of elegant estates and grand parties. The year was 1905, and my son, Robert, was the fifth Earl of Grantham. "_

* * *

_Ireland, 1905_

From the outside, Drumgoole Castle was not a particularly attractive building. It was an eyesore of stone and dry mud, kept standing only by the noble family that had lived there for over three hundred years.

On that night, however, the inside of the castle was adorned in decoration and fresh flowers, celebrating the coming out of the young aristocratic woman. Rich families travelled from far and wide to celebrate the joyous occasion with their young daughters, and for the Crawley family, it was a proud moment as they watched their oldest daughter, Mary, accepted into society.

"Sybbie, will you stand still please," Mary said to her youngest sister as the photographer attempted to take a photograph of her and her sisters. Edith, the middle sister stood impeccably straight, trying to copy Mary's pose, but Sybil kept fussing and frowned at Mary's nickname for her.

"My sleeves are itchy," Sybil complained, sticking out her arms.

"Just one picture, my lady, and then I'll leave you be," the English photographer said as he quickly motioned for his assistant to swap cameras. The black-haired boy did as he was told, and stood behind his master, watching the girls prepare for the picture.

Sybil obeyed and as she stood still, the camera flashed and she found herself blinking repeatedly, trying to adjust to the light once the photographer had finished. Once they were done, Sybil left her sisters in search of the one person she longed to see.

"Granny," she exclaimed as she found her grandmother Violet seated alone in the drawing room. "You're back from Paris!"

"Oh, my dear, look at you," Violet said and even though it was very unladylike indeed, she held no reservations as her granddaughter ran towards her and wrapped her arms around her body. "You seem to be growing every time I see you."

"I'll be turning eleven soon," Sybil said proudly, her smile showing a gap in her mouth. "You'll come won't you?"

"I'm afraid I won't be able too. I have to travel to Scotland. Your aunt and uncle are about to have a baby," Violet said and her heart ached as Sybil pouted. "I do have an early present for you, though."

Sybil's ears perked at the word 'present' and she watched excitedly as her grandmother pulled out an object from the pocket of her dress and held it in the palm of her hand. It was an ornate round object, painted in rich patterns of gold and red with dancing bears and flying birds. Sybil picked it up, and eyed it curiously.

"It's a music box," Violet said, but Sybil was still unsure as to how it worked. "You need a key to open it."

"I don't have a key, though," Sybil replied.

"You're lucky because I do." Violet dangled a chain from her hand and held it in front of Sybil to see. Hanging at the end of the chain was a pendant and Sybil squinted her eyes as she tried to read the words on the gold heart.

"Ma cher," Sybil enunciated. Luckily, she had paid enough attention to her governess to know what the words meant. "My dear!"

"And you are," Violet said as Sybil bowed her head down for her to drape the necklace onto her neck. Violet then took the pendant and turned the music box over, placing the heart in the empty slot. The lid popped open and as she turned it the right side up, Sybil saw that inside was a miniature figure of a ballerina.

"I bought it in Paris and when you turn the knob, the ballerina dances and a melody plays," Violet explained, showing her granddaughter how to operate the item. The ballerina soon began to twirl and a soft tune played much to Sybil's excitement.

"It's so beautiful," Sybil whispered as her grandmother placed it in her hands. "Can I show it to Mama?"

Violet was about to reply when a commotion began to sound from outside the drawing room and before they knew it, an explosion shook the walls. She stood up as quickly as Sybil followed her, scared and clinging onto the music box, and as they peered out into the hallway, they saw nothing but smoke.

"Sybil, stay close to me," Violet said frantically, holding onto the cloth of Sybil's dress as she desperately tried to find a way out of the castle. The sounds of screams sifted through the air and even though, she feared desperately for the rest of her family, she knew that she needed to get Sybil to safety. The hallways darkened, infested with black smoke and they soon began coughing violently.

"Granny, what's happening?" Sybil cried out, but Violet could provide no answer.

"Don't panic, my dear. You just stay with me," Violet reassured her, but as she attempted to navigate down a hallway, she saw a figure in the distance coming closer towards them.

"No, it's the wrong way!" the young boy said as he ran towards them, shielding his head with his jacket. "Come on!" he yelled at them, and Violet felt she had no choice but to follow the Irish boy. Unfortunately, it seemed that it was a bad decision as he brought them down into the empty cellars, trapping them as the fire drew near.

"You foolish boy!" Violet called out as she brought the sobbing Sybil closer to her. The boy took no notice of her words though as he knelt towards the ground and pushed aside one of the rugs revealing a square wooden panel. He pulled it open and quickly descended down the stone steps contained underneath. Violet stood still, unsure whether to follow him into the darkness, but he reappeared once more and took Sybil's hand, telling them vehemently to "get a move on".

As they reached the end of the stairs, Violet could barely make out where they were walking through and she could only assume they were passing through an underground tunnel. Sybil had stopped whimpering and as she held onto both the boy and her Granny, she asked with a sob, "What about Mama and Papa? And Mary and Edith?"

Violet clutched at her heart, and was grateful that the tunnel was so dark that her granddaughter wasn't able to see the distress on her face. She blinked back her own tears and replied, "We pray, my dear. We pray that we'll see them."

Sybil nodded and as they reached the end of the tunnel, fragments of light shone through and the boy ripped open the branches that hid the exit. They pushed through the small hole of the tunnel and as they did, Violet's mouth dropped as she took in the view Drumgoole Castle burning.

The castle was at least five hundred metres away from where they emerged and they could see as people ran from it, completely covered in flames. There seemed to be another group of people cheering as the castle burnt down and she heard the boy mumble, "It's the Republicans."

Sybil, however, began to sob hysterically and Violet took all the energy left in her to kneel down next to her granddaughter and say, "My dear, you stay close to me, you hear that? But for whatever reason, if something happens to me, you run and you find somewhere safe to hide. You stay there until I find you. Do you understand that, Sybil?" Violet said sternly, trying to get her point across to her. Sybil nodded and Violet engulfed her in a grand hug.

It wasn't long before they saw the crowd disperse and search through the forest. Sybil hung on to her grandmother's hand and as they moved through the forest, still following the young boy, a crowd of men soon chased up to them. They tried to run as fast as they could, but Violet's health was not as it used to be and she began to struggle. Suddenly, she tripped, falling to the ground and Sybil fell down with her, tumbling a few metres ahead. The men grew closer and as Sybil quickly got to her feet, she moved to help her grandmother, but an explosion metres away blasted Sybil away into the foliage and rolling down a small hill into a creek.

She picked herself up, standing as she surveyed her surroundings, but all she could remember was her grandmother's words and so she instantly began to ran, following the stream. She ran as fast as she could, away from the burning castle and the explosions and as she did, she didn't notice when the music box fell out of her hands and into the water. As she reached a small thicket of shrubs that contained no view of the pandemonium, she dropped to ground, brought her knees to the chin and sobbed strongly until she had no strength left and sleep finally took her.

* * *

"_So many lives were destroyed that night. What had always been was now gone forever and my Sybil, my beloved grandchild, I never saw her again."_

* * *

AN: Okay, so I was supposed to be studying tonight but instead I wrote this? That's priorities, right there. But yeah, was not expecting this! I've planned it and this probably won't be longer than ten chapters, but they'll be longish chapters? I'm hoping to get this fic done by the end of April (fingers crossed) as I'm planning another Tom/Sybil fic (get your whips ready people - and I don't mean it like _that_) and Star-Crossed Lovers still needs to finish. And yes, I've taken some liberties with ages, hope you don't mind. Enjoy all and I'd love to know what you guys think :)


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